Mechanical molding presses are commonplace in the manufacturing industry. In order to lock these presses in position, it is necessary to provide a clamping system or mechanism to keep the parts of the mold in position while plastic or the like is injected under pressure. Often these clamping mechanisms are large and complex and, like many mechanical systems, may require externally applied lubricant to keep moving parts operating smoothly.
In some molding applications, additional consideration may need to be given to the loads, space constraints and clean room requirements, for example, if the molding is for medical applications or the like, where the potential for contaminant lubricant leakage is possible. In these environments, conventional hydraulic or toggle clamping mechanisms may not be appropriate. Further, electro-mechanical devices such as servo drives are generally not capable of delivering the repetitive loads and forces often required for plastic molding and typically are quite large and/or produce significant amounts of heat during operation.